pressley



(No Model.)

3 Sheets- Sheet 1.

L. 0,. PRESSLEY.

AUIOMATIG AIR SUPPLY FOR PROPELLING' CARS.

Patented May 29, 1888.

N. PETERS. Pho\u-Lilhographer, Washinglcfl. n. C.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

L.v G; PRESSLEY;

AUTOMATIC AIR SUPPLY FOR PROPELLING GARS.

No. 888,828. P88811888 May 29, 1888.

N. PETERS. Pnowmm m. Wuhinglofl. n. c.

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

L. 0. PRESSLEY'.

AUTOMATIC AIR SUPPLY FOR PROPELLING (JARS. No. 383,826.

Patented May 29, 1888.

N E1585, PlwwLinlm m l-m, Washington. DV 6 UNITED STATES PATENT Cl rion.

LEONIDAS C. PRESSLEY, OF SAI\ FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THEAUTOMATIC CONNECTION COMPRESSED AIR CAR MOTOR COMPANY,

OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC AlR -SUPPLY FOR PROPELLING CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 383,826, dated May 29,1888.

Application filed July 21, 1887. Serial No. 244,951. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEONIDAS O. PRESSLEY,

of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, haveinvented an Improvement in Propelling Cars by Compressed Air; and Ihereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same.

My invention relates to a means for propelling cars upon street or otherrailways.

It consists of a tube extending along the line of the track, preferablybetween the rails, this tube being connected with an air-compressingapparatus, so that it may be kept full of air at any desired pressure.At intervals along the tube are small valves, which may be opened by theapproaching car, and the car is provided with a receiver and with aflexible hose and connecting bell-mouthed nozzle or joint, which engageswith and opens the valve of the street-tube,so that a portion of thecompressed air will be admitted to the receiver on the car, and fromthis may be applied to drive the engine, as will be more fully explainedby reference tothe accompanying drawings, i n which- Figure I is a sideelevation of the car, showing its construction, and a section of thetube, showing the mannerin which the valves operate and the air is takenfrom them. Fig. 2 is an end view showing the receiver, the car, and themanner of transferring the air into it. Fig. 3 is a section showing thedriving mechanism. Fig. t is a section of the valve and nozzle.

A is the car, having any suitable engine,B, by which it is driven, and areceiver, C, for compressed air, which is to be admitted to it at statedintervals from the tube D, which extends along the street. This tube isconnected with a compressing apparatus at some station or stations atvarious points along the route, so that a supply of compressed air maybe kept in it at all times at such a pressure as may be found mostdesirable.

At various points along the tube,and at such intervals as may bedetermined by the necessities of the engine or the load to be drawn, arevalves E, which are fitted into openings from which air may be allowedto pass when ever these valves are open. The valves may be of anysuitable or desirable description.

In Fig. 1 I have shown them in the form of puppet-valves, openinginwardly and closing outwardly, being kept to their seats also by spiralsprings.

The valve-seat is preferably a small semiglobular projection rising ashort distance above the level of the tube, so as to be readily engagedby the device upon the car by which the air is to be taken from the tubeand trans ferred to the car-reservoir.

In Fig. 1 I have shown this device as being composed of a flexible tube,F, having a bellmouthed or semi-globular nozzle, G,which will fitair-tight upon the semi-globular projection on the tube containing thevalves E. IVithin the nozzle G and surrounding its lower periphery is anelastic rubber ring or gasket, H, which serves to make a perfect fitupon the exterior of the valve seats,and by its thickness and elasticityallows for irregularity of pressure.

As the stationary tube D is beneath the roadway in the tunnel and theconnecting bellmouth is also within the tunnel, I have'shown a largeflat hollow disk, I, the sides of which are connected by a number ofstay-bolts to prevent their being spread by internal press ure orcrushed from the outside. This disk is thin enough to pass up throughthe narrow slot in the roadway and forms the connection between thebell-mouthed nozzle and the lower end of the flexible tube through whichair is conveyed to the reservoir.

At the point where the tube joins the disk is a frame or plate, J ,withanti-friction rollers jonrnaled to it, so as to travel upon the guidesK, which are fixed beneath the car parallel with the track and tube. Theends of these guides are inclined, as shown, so that when thebell-mouthed nozzle is moved to the front end the guide-rollers movingup this incline will so incline the opening of the bell-mouth that itwill be in readiness to engage and fit over each of the globularvalve-seats when itreaches them. The pin or projection (4 within thebell-month then presses upon the valve and opens it, and as the earmoves forward the bell mouth remains in connection with the openinguntil it has traveled to the rear end of the guides, when it is turnedbackward by the rollers moving up the rear incline of the guides, and isthus disengaged from the valveseat, the valve being allowed to close atthe same instant. The flexible tube is of sufficient length to allow ofthis movement of the nozzle and keeps up a constant communication, thusallowing air to flow through the flexible tube all the time while theconnection is kept open, and this will be sufficient to fill thecar-reservoir.

In order to return the end of the traveling flexible tube and bell-mouthafter it has reached the end of the guides, it is connected with a ropeor cord, L, passing around pulleys M,and having a weight or spring, N,so arranged that when the traveling connecting end of the flexible tubeor bell-mouth has reached the end of its travel and has been detachedfrom the air-supply tube the weight or spring will return it to the endof the guides nearest the front, ready to be again connected with theair-supply tube. The shape of the connecting-couplings is such that theyengage automatically when the car has reached the point which will bringthe coupling or bell-mouth upon the flexible tube into contact with theglobular one upon the stationary air-supply tube, and this end of theflexible tube moves on the guides to the end of its travel, as beforestated.

By this construction it will be seen that simultaneously with theconnection which is made between the flexible tube and the tracktube aconnection will be made between the upper part of the flexible tube andthe earreservoir, andby this means the latter will be filled with air, acheck-valve at any desired point preventing its return. The next stationmay be situated any suitable or desired distance away-as one hundred ortwo hundred feetand the same operation will be carried on at this point.The joint is kept tight and the connection made perfect by the press ureand close flt of the nozzle on the end of the flexible tube on theprojecting valve-seat upon the stationary or street tube, this pressurebeing maintained by reason of the horizontal guides, between which theslides or rollers connected with the nozzle on the end of the flexibletube travel.

Any suitable form of engine may be e1nployed to apply the power of thecompressed air, so as to drive the car along the track. In the presentcase I haveindicated the ordinary oscillating engine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. The reservoir carried upon thetraveling car, having the flexible tube, with one end opening into thereservoir and the other provided with a bell-mouthed nozzle, which willconnect with corresponding valve-seats, and valves upon a tube fixedunder ground and parallel with the line of rails, in combination withhorizontal guides upon the car, and slides or rollers, whereby thenozzle at the end of the flexible tube is held in position and caused totravel from end to end of the guides while connection is made with thefixed street-tube, substantially as herein described.

2. The car provided with an air-reservoir, a flexible tube having oneend connected with said reservoir and the other traveling uponhorizontal guides beneath the car and provided with a bell-mouthednozzle, by which connection is made with the corresponding valve-seatsin a compressed-air pipe beneath the street, so that when suchconnection is made a valve will be opened to allow air to pass into thereservoir, in combination with a spring or weighted cord connected withthe movable end of the air-pipe, so as to return it to the front end ofthe guides after connection has been broken with the street-pipe,substantially as herein described.

3. The underground tube or tunnel parallel with and between the railsand having an open slot in the top, a compressed-air pipe supportedwithin the tube and having semi-globular projecting valvechambers atintervals with inwardly'opening valves, in combination with abell-mouthed nozzle fltting over the valveseats, and a fiat hollow diskextending up through the tube-slot, so as to form a connection with thelower end of a flexible tube connecting with a reservoir upon the ear,substantially as herein described.

4. The bell-mouthed nozzles fitting the correspondingly-shapedvalve-seats upon the airpipe and the flexible conveying-tube with whichthey are connected, in combination with the traveling slides or rollersfixed to the lower end of the flexible pipe, and the guides upon whichthese rollers travel fixed to the car and having the ends inclined,substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

LEONIDAS o. PRESSLEY.

Witnesses: V

S. H. NOURSE, H. 0. LEE.

ICC

